Halo: Sword and SHIELD
by N0b0dyInParticular
Summary: After opening Requiem, the Master Chief finds himself embroiled in a fight against the Storm Covenant in a strange, new world. With the unlikeliest of allies, John will try to find a way home- where ever that may be for him. Halo/Marvel MCU crossover- Marvel characters not found in the Cinematic Universe will appear. All I.P.s belong to their rightful owners.
1. Chapter 1

War.

That one little word fails to convey the true meaning of the concept it is meant to represent. It is all the human race knew for nearly thirty years. In that time period, twenty-three billion humans were killed by a genocidal alliance of aliens known as the Covenant. In that time, over one thousand human worlds fell. In that time, hundreds of men and women dedicated themselves to perfecting humanity's greatest weapons. In that time, thirty-three super-soldiers first gave humanity the will to hold the line. In that time, one finished the fight.

Peace.

That one little word is the one thing that man will never know.

* * *

_New York City, New York, United States of America, Earth-199998_

_May 4__th__ 2011 _

"I don't see how that's a party….."

That confused statement had only just left Black Widow's mouth as a Chitauri Leviathan chased the armored figure of Iron Man around the corner of a building, debris flying as the beast's monstrous form smashed through the building. A whirlwind of destruction followed closely behind that red and gold blur that was Tony Stark.

"Doctor Banner, now might be a really good time for you to get angry." Captain America said, his masked face remaining surprisingly calm.

"That's my secret Captain. I'm always angry." Banner replied to the Captain as he walked towards the Leviathan. Bruce turned away from the Avengers and rapidly mutated into his hated alter-ego, the Hulk. Like a boxer in the ring, the Hulk slammed his green fist into the face of the alien. After the brief sojourn provided by the lull in the conflict, the Avengers fought off the invasion with increased vigor. The battle reached its climax as the Avengers retook Stark Tower from the Asgardian exile Loki and Tony Stark destroyed the mother-ship of the invading Chitauri forces as the portal closed.

"Alright, uh alright, good job guys! Let's just, ah, not come in tomorrow, okay, let-let's just take a day." Tony said while lying on the ground, his suit mostly powerless and destroyed. His arms weakly flailed at his sides.

"You ever try shawarma? There's a shawarma joint 'bout two blocks from here. I don't know what it is but I want to try it…."

"We're not finished yet." Said the golden-haired Son of Asgard, grimly looking towards Stark Tower, where his adopted brother still lay unconscious.

* * *

_S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Currently over the Atlantic Ocean, Earth-199998_

_August 15__th__ 2012_

"Is there a reason you're reassigning me to Stark, sir?"

"Of course there is, Agent Romanov. Now I know he is a grown man who can take care of himself but ever since the New York Invasion, out of all the people involved in the Avengers Initiative, Tony Stark has shown signs of suffering from PTSD. As Iron Man, Tony Stark is one of the most dangerous people in the world- if he were to break under the pressure, we would be forced to bring him down and the future of the Initiative would be doomed. YOU need to make sure that doesn't happen. I don't need Mr. Stark screwing everything up for us because some kid in a diner asks him about New York. You got that? Now get your ass outta here and complete your mission!" Nick Fury ordered Natasha, his voice rising as his ire began to boil over.

Natasha replied to her superior, "Yes sir. Should I keep my distance or should I work as his secretary again?"

"You're the super-spy, use your own discretion! I shouldn't have to tell you how to do your damn job or should I!?" Fury's eyebrow raised as his voice got angrier and angrier. Natasha noted his words and left, giving a curt nod out of respect.

Shaking his head, Nicholas Fury looked downwards towards a crew member on the deck below him.

"ENSIGN PETERS! STOP PLAYING PACMAN!"

* * *

_Wreckage of the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn, Orbit of the Requiem Installation, Epoloch System, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-117649_

_July 21__st__ 2557_

_"Mayday Mayday Mayday- this is UNSC FFG-201 __Forward Unto Dawn__ requesting immediate evac. Survivors aboard- prioritization code Victor zero five dash three dash Sierra one one seven._ _Mayday Mayday Mayday- this is UNSC FFG-201 __Forward Unto Dawn__ requesting immediate evac. Survivors aboard- prioritization code Victor zero five dash three dash Sierra one one seven." _

The automated message played repeatedly, much as it had for nearly five years. This call for help became a routine as necessary as breathing was for a human to the A.I performing it- as well as the thousands of other processes she ran alongside the relative footnote that was the distress call. Existence was tough for a UNSC smart A.I; they literally thought themselves to death after seven years due of the compulsion to always be operating numerous tasks. Rampancy led to various delusions of grandeur and godhood. Cortana was doing her best to hold off the effects of her systems' decay by ceasing as many of her higher functions as possible.

She operated this way so that when she needed him, she'd have the capacity to work with her old friend without wanting to kill him. Then something found them. A  
mysterious wall of light passed through the wreckage of the _Forward Unto_ _Dawn_, startling the dormant A.I into activity. She formed her avatar with a look of fear on her face, clueless as to what it could be. Knowing the time had come, the holographic woman accessed the blue, glowing interface that appeared in front of her. There was only a moment's hesitation before she pressed the button to finish the procedure.

"Wake up, Chief. I need you."


	2. Chapter 2

_Wreckage of the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn, Orbit of the Requiem Installation, Epoloch System, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-117649_

_July 21__st__ 2552_

John was home. He was resting in a rocking chair on the porch of the house he and his wife, Parisa, built from the ground up by Lake Gusev, where he made that silly childhood promise to marry her after he saved her from drowning. Down in the water, his children, Linda, Kelly, and Frederic, were playing and splashing each other, the sound of their laughter ringing through the air. After hearing the sound of footsteps behind, John tilted his head back towards his raven haired wife.

"Hey. Cora called a few minutes ago. She and Catherine were wondering if we wanted to bring the kids over for dinner tonight. I told her that you wouldn't mind going after you finished napping. She said to wake you because she needs you." Parisa said to the large man, who stood at 6'4.

"Well, I'm up now. Might as well get the kids ready to go. Fred, Linda! Kelly! Time to come inside! We're going to your Aunt Cora's house for dinner! Grandma's going to be there!"

The three siblings ran up towards the house as the youngest of the three, Kelly, out sped her siblings. They ran up the porch steps like a pack of cheetahs, with only one destination in mind: the washroom. With the kids gone, Parisa walked around the edge of the chair and sat in his lap resting her head on his shoulder.

"You know they hit Destiny last week," she whispered into his shoulder, "The reports claim that only three thousand made off world alive and out of the system." He felt tears hit his shoulders as he hugged his wife.

"They could have gotten off-world. After all, three thousand is a lot of people." His words sound false, even to himself. Destiny had a population of thirty-two million; the chances of his brother-in-law's family surviving were dismally low. "Don't worry, we'll be okay. For tonight though, let's just focus on dinner. Who knows, maybe my sister will leave the cooking to mom tonight. She's an absolute genius but she'd burn a PB&J sandwich underwater. Now, let's get inside and clean you up."

The couple headed into the modest home, which was surprisingly bare of the trappings you would find in a family home; it could almost be considered spartan. Of course, that was how he liked it. The woman headed down the hall by herself, her feet making only the smallest of taps on the ground. His own footsteps lightly thudded on the wooden floor as his work com-piece began to ring.

"This is Chief Halsey. What's going on? Markus, slow down… you're telling me?" John Halsey's heart stopped at the news given to him. "The Covenant are here? God… I'm on my way. I'll be there in ten minutes." Sweat began to form at his brow. "Parisa! Get the kids! We've got to go NOW!" She came running down the hall immediately.

"John, what is it? John, answer me."

"It's happening, they're here. The Covenant are attacking Eridanus."

Parisa's breath halted for a moment, her eyes full of terror, and then she dashed back down the hall to get the needed belongings for everyone. Within minutes everyone was packed into John's police model M12 Warthog, foregoing the family car for the 'Hog's greater speed and maneuverability. The children sat quietly next to their mother huddled together. The twins, Fred and Linda, sat on both sides of Kelly, who was hugging her stuffed bunny rabbit while trying to not cry. No one in the vehicle wanted to look at the Covenant cruiser overhead; all but John, whose eyes were glued to the road, were staring at it as Spirit drop-ships and Banshees poured from out of the gut of the beast. A sleek fork-shaped craft flew by, its plasma cannon firing at a group of civilians running into a building. John swerved around debris and vehicles as the streets he was driving through grew more crowded.  
"John, I can't get a hold of Cora or Catherine. Do you think they-" Parisa was in the middle of speaking when her husband cut her off.  
"I'll have to go back for them if I get the chance, but right now my focus is making sure you four are safe."

* * *

John pulled into the police station garage as a squad of marines began to seal the building. Several marines jumped out of the way as he hit the far wall of the garage. He began to help his family out of the warthog when a dark skinned staff-sergeant approached him.

"What in God's name was that? You almost got some of my men killed with that fancy 'drivin' of yours! Just who the hell do you think you are?" The staff-sergeant glared at him while chewing on the end of an unlit cigar.

"John Halsey, ECLE district 7 police chief. I came here as soon as I heard the news. I'd like to speak to your commanding officer, if possible. One more thing, do you where know Lt. Anita Markus is?"

"Well _Mr. _Halsey, my commanding officer was killed in the line of fire by a Covie sniper. I'm the highest ranked solider in this building so anything you have to say, you can say to me. As for your Lt., I told her to start barricading any rooftop entrances. Your family should get to the evac tunnels and head for the spaceport. I need you here to help buy as much time as possible for the civilians to escape." The grizzle solider walked away to try to hail the UNSC frigate currently in combat against the cruiser, leaving John and his family to sort out their goodbyes.

Doing his best to hold back the tears, he led them to the evac tunnel.  
"Parisa, keep them safe for me okay. Everything will be okay. You just need to get to the spaceport and get off world. Take them to Reach or Earth. I need you to be strong for them." John held his crying wife close to him before turning to his son. "Frederic, help your mother, you hear me? You're the man of the house now. It's up to you to watch over them the best you can." He grabbed the four of them close to himself before they entered the tunnel.

Suddenly, the building began to shake as a Spirit crashed through it and the tunnel destabilized. Hundreds of tons of material fell upon his family and John rose from the ground bruised but otherwise unharmed, tears now openly streaming from his face.

The staff-sergeant was saying something to him before a green ball of energy struck the man square in the chest. Plasma flew from the weapons of surviving alien invaders, striking marines and police officers alike. John threw himself into motion and grabbed the MA5B of a fallen marine. He aimed his rifle at a grunt trying to prime a grenade and fired several bullets into its body and skull, killing the unfortunate creature. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Lt. Markus being impaled by an elite's energy sword. The police officer turned his rifle towards the giant alien and fired wildly. Most of his shots hit his monstrous foe but he only did light damage to its shields; the only thing that did was draw its attention. John pulled the trigger on the gun but it clicked repeatedly, signifying that it needed to be reloaded. Throwing the weapon aside, he suicidally charged the elite. The athletic alien kicked him in the ribs with ease, an odd noise coming from its mandibles.  
_ Is that squidhead laughing at me?_ John thought to himself weakly. He tried to stand back up, despite multiple broken ribs and a ruptured lung. The elite kicked him back down to the ground and prepared to strike him with its energy sword. The last thing John thought was that the elite's face looked strangely familiar.

Then the Master Chief woke up.


End file.
